Pot type oil burner



P 9 R. c. LARAMY 2,609,041

PQT TYPE OIL BURNER Filed Nov. 19, 1948 Patented Sept. 2, 1952 NITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE :POVT "TYPE OIL BURNER Richard :Gharles :Laramy,.Muskegon Heights, Mich, :assignor to Borg-Warner Corporation,'flhicago, 1111,, .a corporation of Illinois Application'November 19,1948, Serial'No.-'60;865

.2 Claims. '1

"invention relates to hot "air 'hea'ter systerns, and is particularlyconcerned with an arrangement for effecting, in the "high fire stages, awhirling action to the flamewithou't necessitating mechanical means,this construction having special application to oil pot burner heaters.

The ultimate to be achievedin the operation of oil pot {burnersiscomplete combustion for all values of heat output varying from that atlow fire 'to that at high fire withfa minimum of carbon or sootdeposits. The difficulty in accomplishing this result has been due tothe "several variables "present in the operation of this type o'fsystem,the'prior art structures being designed of necessity to employcarbonaceous hy drocarbon fuel oils which have heretofore presented*many problems and, the problem of how to properly obtain ahig'hconcentration of heat with substantially complete combustion of the dueloil with a'minimum of carbon 'or soot deposits has presented difficultyfor along time without being "satisfactorily solved. This art is "highlydeveloped and many expensive arrangements have :been proposed withvarying degrees of limited success.

For example, such proposals have included the employment of a pluralityof burner pots havin various forms of baffles or other mechanical meansto regulate' the air and the o'ilfeed through the various stages betweenhigh fire andlowfire in an effort to correlate the supply of fuel oiland the supply of air.

Accordingly, a special object and accomplishment of the invention .is toprovide an oil pot burner capable of effectively -enir'zaloying either adistillate or a catalytic oil as a fuel and capable of efiicientlyeffecting substantially complete combustion of the fuel oil'with anormal conventional feed, thereby eliminating'the objectionable :carbonand soot deposits normally found in prior art structures which .ofnecessity employed carbonaceous hydrocarbon-fuels.

Another object and accomplishment of the invention is to provide an oil.pot burner employing a construction which will cause the flame in thehigh fire stages to impart a whirling action without necessitating theemployment of mechanical means, this whirling action contributing to theefficiency of the operation by improved air and oil vapor mixing and tomore eiiectively distribute the heat to the'hea't exchanger.

Another object and accomplishment of the invention is the provision ofan improved simple pilot arrangement which permits the maintenance of a.pilot flame in the burner with a maxi- 2 mum turn-down when a heatingefie'ct'is znot -"desired.

Another purpose of'the invention is to'provide a simple, convenientcompact burner and heater adaptable for advantageous employment inth'ehome and which may be "safely employed in a dwelling or aroom. I

The invention seeks, as a further object and accomrilishmenigto providean oil pot burner as contemplated herein and particularly characterizedby :an arrangement of parts to more advantageously and satisfactorilyperform the functions required of it and adapted'top'rovidea compactunit which will successfully combine the factors of structuralsimplicity and durability and yet be economical to manufacture.

Anotherdbject and accomplishment of themvention is tojimprove theconstruction of oil pot burners as 'herein contemplated with respect toefiiciency of operation; and to this endyan im portant feature of theinvention is to provide an oil pot burner employingnew principlegofoperation by the inclusion of a lower combustion chamber adaptable toreceive either distillate or a catalytic fuel oil conventionallyregulatedin various quantities", the lowest quantity of "fueloil beingemployed to provide a pilot, and said lower combustion chamber havingsuperimposed thereon a particularly shaped second chamber which isadvantageously employed as a high combustion chamber, said highcombustion chamber being provided with a plurality of louversparticularly and specifically formed to direct the flow of aircomingthrough'these'lcuvers into the combustion chamber tangentially todefine "a definite circular path in either a counter clockwise or aclockwise direction. Disposed within the high combustion chamber thereis provided a central burner posthavingan enlarged portion disposed inthe high combustion chamber proper and supported in such position by anyconvenient means.

Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention disclosedherein will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after theconstruction and operation are understoodfromthewithin description.

It is preferred to accomplish the various objects of this invention andto practice the same in substantially the manner hereinafter fullydescribed and, as more particularly pointed out in the appended claims,reference being had to the accompanying drawing which forms a parto'f'this specification, wherein;

Fig. '1 is a side elevational view oi. an oil pot burner embodying andillustrating the features of this invention and having portions thereofshown in section to more clearly and advantageously illustrate theconstruction thereof; and

Fig. 2 is a top elevational view of the oil pot burner depicted in Fig.1 and having portions thereof shown in section taken substantially onthe plane of the line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

The drawing is to be understood to be more or less of a schematiccharacter for the purpose of illustrating and disclosing a typical orpreferred form of the improvements contemplated herein, and in thedrawing like reference characters identify the same parts in the severalviews.

In the exemplary embodiment of the invention depicted in Figs. 1 and 2,the pot burner with which the present invention is particularlyconcerned comprises, in general, a lower combustion chamber designatedin its entirety by the numeral and formed to define a pan-shaped pot ofsubstantially a circular shape and adaptable to receive eitherdistillate or a catalytic fuel oil through the medium of a pipeconnection 2! interconnected with conventional distributingandregulating devices, said lower combustion chamber 20 havingsuperimposed thereon a coneshaped second combustion chamber designatedin its entirety by the numeral 22. Disposed within the combustionchambers 20 and 22 there is provided a central burner post designated inits entirety by the numeral 23 and having an enlarged portion 24disposed in the upper combustion chamber proper and having portions 25extending downwardly into the lower pot or lower combustion chamber 20for employment as a supporting member for the enlarged portion 24. Theenlarged portion 24 may be supported in its operative position in anyconvenient manner, the construction shown being only one possiblemethod.

In accordance with the construction of this invention, the lower chamberor pct 20, preferably, is formed of a suitable metal to define asubstantially circular shape and is provided with a bottom which ma beseparatelv formed and may be secured as at 3 I, by conventional weldingprocesses, to the upper regions of the pot 20, said upper regionsdefining a substantially circular shaped wall as at 32 provided with apluralitv of apertures 33 which are disposed in series relationship inat least two separated planes running in a substantially horizontaldirection. At the uppermost portion of the upper portion 32 of theburner pot 20 there is provided integrallv formed flanges 35 tocooperate with a flange 36 of a bailie or cover 31 of the lowercombustion chamber 20. It is notable that the cover or baffle 37 isprovided with at least two rows of apertures as at 38, these aperturesbeing adaptable to permit air to enter into the combustion chamber 2!].

An important feature of the invention is the provision of the upperchamber 22 which is advantageously secured by welding or any otherconventional process, to a flange 40 of the baflle 31, said upperchamber 22 defining a circular substantially cone-shape, the side wall4| of which is provided with a plurality of particularly shaped louvers42 which are adapted to direct air coming into the upper chamber 22tangentially in a particular path thereby to cause a circular orwhirling action to the flame in a counterclockwise or a clockwisedirection as determined desirable or expedient. In referring to Fig. 2it can be seen that louvers 42 present an opening only at one side ofthe deformation so as 4 to direct the flow of air tangentially to thewall of the chamber in the desired circular path.

Secured to a suitable heat exchanger 5| which may be formed to defineany convenient shape is a bafile or divider plate 50.

Disposed within the combustion chamber 20 and 22 there is provided thecentral burner post 23 which comprises an enlarged portion 24 formed ofa fire resistant material such as, for example, a suitable metal orfurnace cement or carbo-frax or any material having likecharacteristics, said enlarged portion 24 being formed to define asubstantially circular shape as illustrated and may have a tubularsupport 25 extending into the lower chamber 20, said tubular support 25having a flared portion 55 provided with an aperture 56 adaptable toreceive the stud 51 carried by the bottom 30, thereby advantageouslyholding the central burner post 23 in its operative position. It is tobe understood that the manner of supporting the enlarged portion 24 inits operative position in the combustion chamber 22 is optional and anyother equivalent and convenient method may be employed, the constructionas illustrated being only an example of one possible method.

It is characteristic of the improvement in the construction of oil potburners as contemplated herein that the distillate or catalytic fuel,either liquid or gaseous, is burned, in the high flame stages, in awhirling flame after the final addition of a secondary supply of air toan intermediate mixture of the distillate or a catalytic fuel oil whichhas been placed in condition for proper combustion by the admission of acharge of primary air in quantities sufficient to effect complete, orsubstantially complete, combustion, in the upper regions. It isimportant that the primary air, so supplied, preferably through theapertures 33 and 38 of the lower combustion chamber, be insufficient tosupport full combustion, and that the draft be so controlled as toprevent down eddies of air from above which would promote combustion atlevels where combustion is not desired.

In accordance with the construction of my invention, I admit either adistillate or a catalytic fuel into the lower chamber 20 primariladapted as a pilot or a mixing and low combustion zone. If a low flameis desired only sufficient quantities of the distillate or a catalyticfuel oil will be caused to enter into the lower chamber 20 to provide alow flame pilot. When it is desired that a high or heating flame beproduced a greater quantity of distillate or catalytic fuel oil will bepermitted to enter into the lower chamber which will gradually cause ahigher flame to be produced in the lower chamber 20. As the flame risesit will be subjected to the primary air supply entering apertures 33causing a draft to rise upwardly to bring the flame into the uppercombustion zone in the chamber 22 where the flame will be subjected tothe drafts of air entering into this chamber through the louvers 42,thereby to direct the path of the flame in a circular direction whichwill cause a desirable whirling action simulating the action of aconventional motor driven oil burner.

It is important to note that as the liquid is burned in the lowerchamber, it is gasified by the radiant heat of the combustion going onabove it. The gas or gasifled liquid rises upwardly until it reaches thelevel of the inflowing secondary air entering into the upper chamberthrough the louvers 42. The primary air may be adaccents mittedthrough-the apertures fli'disposed in the lower combustion chamber andthe alperturesefl disposed in the baffle 3?. in either-case thecrosssectional area ofthe apertures'is determined by the volume of airnecessarytoeffe'ct-thecomplete or virtually complete intermixture of theair and thedistillate orcatalytic fuel without, at

.ml ht support complete local combustion where not desired, it ispreferable to employ a large number of small scattered apertures asillustra with respect tothe disposition of apertures as at 33 and. It isimportant that relatively small apertures be employed in order that thecrosss ectional area and strength of the individual jets of air beinsufficient tc cause undesirable downdrafts and turbulences where notdesired.

In accordance with-the construction of my invention it is important tounderstand that the air is admitted by natural draft and it is notnecessary to employ mechanical'rneans to'accomplish the. resultsandfunctions of the device as described.

An important feature of the device is the structure of the upper chamberand particularly the shape and disposition of the louvers which providethe entrance of air into the upper chamber in a specifically directedpath so that during combustion the flame will assume a whirling actionsimilar to the action found in conventional mechanical oil burnersemploying motors and mechanical fans. The whirling action of the flameprovides the desired advantages of aiding an effective intermixture ofair and oil vapor and facilitating the substantially complete and evendistribution of the heat to the heat exchanger.

Moreover, the contemplated construction permits the use of eitherdistillate or a catalytic fuel oil which obviously provides theadvantages or a minimum soot or carbon deposit.

It is to be understood that this construction is not to be limited tothe employment of a particular class of fuel oils, either distillate orcertain catalytic fuel oils being capable of employment in the burner toadvantage and, where such fuel oils are employed, it will be found'thatthe carbon and soot deposits will be at a minimum.

' It is notable that the structure contemplated is economical tomanufacture and readily adaptable to mass production manufacturingprinciples, thereby substantially reducing the cost of manufacture.Moreover, it will be found that the oil pot burner provides asubstantially complete combustion of the fuel oils employed therebyproviding a savings to the user in fuel oil consumption for a givenamount of heat.

From the foregoing disclosure it can be observed that I have provided anoil pot burner which efliciently fulfills the objects thereof ashereinbefore set forth and provides numerous advantages which may besummarized as follows:

1. structurally simple, efficient and durable;

2. Economical to manufacture and readily adaptable to mass productionmanufacturing principles; and

- 3. The provlsionjoran: ollj pot-burner employ ing a construction whichwill causefthe flame in the high fire stages to impartxa whirling actionwithout necessitating the. employment of mechanical means, this whirlingaction contributing to the efiiciencyof the operation by improved airand oil vapornu' xing and to more effectively distribute the heat to theheat exchanger.

While I have illustrated. a preferred embodiment of my invention, manymodifications may be made without departing fromthespirit. of theinvention, and I do not wish to be limited to the Precise detailsofconstructlon set forth but wish to avail myself of all changes withinthe. scope of the appended claims.

1. An oil pot type burner comprising, vertically extending wall meansforming a lower combustion chamber defining a pan-shaped pot ofsubstantially circular shape and having means to re.- ceive either adistillate or a catalyticfuel eoil, said wall means adjacent the upperregions thereof having a plurality of-apertures disposed in seriesrelationship in at least two-separate spaced planes running in asubstantiallyhorizon tal direction and adapted to permit air to enterinto said lower combustion chamber, a cover for said lower combustionchamber having a cen t'ral through opening'and provided with at leasttwo rows of apertures disposed radially outwardly of the central openingand'adapted to permitair to enter said lower combustion chamber, wallmeans carried by said cover and arranged to define an upwardly andoutwardly flared shaped upper combustion chamber the lower end of whichbeing open and embracing the marginal edges of said central throughopening and arranged in open communication with said lower combustionchamber, the air flowing through the apertures in the wall means and insaid cover providing a primary source of air to facilitate an initialcombustion of the fuel oil in the lower combustion chamber whereupon theheavy combustible gases are directed into the upper combustion chamberinto the path of a secondary source of air to complete the combustion,said upper combustion chamber being provided with a plurality of louversarranged in at least three separate spaced planes running in asubstantially horizontal direction and permitting air to passtherethrough' to define a secondary source of air and arranged to directsaid air coming into the upper chamber in a particular path to impart acircular and whirling action to the flame, and a post-like membersupported in the lower combustion chamber and extending through butspaced from the marginal edges of said central through opening and intoboth of said combustion chambers and having a tubular shaped enlargedportion disposed in the upper combustion chamber, said tubular shapedenlarged portion being arranged to take up a predetermined amount ofspace in the central regions of the upper combustion chamber forcooperation with the primary source of air and the secondary source ofair to direct the heavy high combustible gas normally rising upwardly inthe central regions of the burner into the path of the secondary airentering into the upper combustion chamber.

2. In an oil pot type burner, the combination with vertically extendingwall means forming a lower combustion chamber defining a pan-shaped potof substantially circular shape and having means to receive either adistillate or a catalytic fuel oil, said wall means adjacent the upperregions thereof having a plurality of apertures disposed in seriesrelationship in at least. two separate spaced planes running in asubstantially horizontal direction and adapted to permit air to enterinto said lower combustion chamber, of *a cover for said lowercombustion chamber having a central through opening and provided with atleast two rows of apertures disposed radially outwardly of the centralopening and adapted to permit air to enter said lower combustionchamber, and wall means carried by said cover and arranged to define anupwardly and outwardly flared shaped upper combustion chamber the end ofwhich being open and embracing the marginal edges of said centralthrough opening and arranged in open communication with said lowercombustion chamber, the air flowing through the apertures in the wallmeans and in said cover providing a primary source of air to facilitatean initial combustion of the fuel oil in the lower combustion chamberwhereupon the heavy com- .bustible gases are directed into the uppercombustion chamber into the path of a secondary source of air tocomplete the combustion, said upper combustion chamber being providedwith a plurality of louvers arranged in at least three separate spacedplanes running in a substantially horizontal direction and permittingair to pass therethrough to define a secondary source of air andarranged to direct said air coming into the upper chamber in aparticular path to impart a circular and whirling action to the flame,and said burner having a post-like member extending through said centralthrough opening and into both of said combustion chambers and having anenlarged portion disposed in the upper combustion chamber, said enlargedportion being arranged to take up a predetermined amount of space in thecentral regions of the upper combustion chamber for cooperation with theprimary source of air and the secondary source of air to direct theheavy high combustible gas normally rising upwardly in the centralregion of the burner into the path of the secondary air entering intothe upper combustion chamber.

RICHARD CHARLES LARAMY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Hodges Jan. 30, 1945

